Point of View

John David Anderson relates his novel Ms. Bixby’s Last Day in the first-person narrative mode from the points of view of Topher, Steve, and Brand. The perfect last day for Ms. Bixby consists of Brand’s plan that he, Topher, and Steve go and visit Ms. Bixby in the hospital. Each character approaches the journey from his own perspective and place, and so it is fitting that each character be allowed to narrate their own part in the overall journey. Each has had a unique relationship and set of experiences with Ms. Bixby, and each has a unique set of circumstances relating to their home lives. This allows the reader unique insights and understanding of the lives of each of Anderson’s three main characters – insights and understanding not readily available to one another in the novel. This further allows Anderson to fully explore...